1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system operating under a Web environment and a method of controlling the same and to a processing method of enabling to know a job status on a Web browser. More particularly, the present invention relates to a print server processing method of enabling to know a job status on a Web browser in a print system which prints under a Web environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
SaaS (Software as a Service) which provides a software function as a service on a network has become widespread. In addition to SaaS, a thin client that makes only a browser run on a PC (Personal Computer) is also expected to become widespread. In SaaS, it is unnecessary to install applications in a client PC. Introducing a thin client is very advantageous for a user because, for example, it reduces the management cost of software to be distributed to clients and prevents information leakage by obviating the needs for storing data in a client environment. SaaS and the client environment where only a browser runs are services on a WWW (World Wide Web) platform. There is no doubt that future services will be provided to run on the WWW platform.
Under these circumstances, response to a Web print service for providing a print service on the WWW platform, which is one of application examples of SaaS, is a very important problem for a print system.
In the Internet Web technology field mainly including information processing apparatuses, a start has recently been made at heavily using XML applications of, for example, RSS/Atom used to distribute hot news and the like. Monitoring target updated information/summary information is distributed as an RSS/Atom feed so that a Web browser can display the information of the distributed feed (the Web browser operates as an RSS reader). Some print systems acquire updated information using the RSS technology (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-323610). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-323610 allows the administrator to do remote and centralized monitoring when the hardware/software configuration or setting information of a printing apparatus has been updated.
However, when, for example, monitoring print jobs in a print system, a user must monitor only print jobs executed by himself/herself (referring to print jobs executed by another person is prohibited). In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-323610, it is possible to distribute RSS feeds to a specific user (administrator) or many specified users (users registered in advance). However, since an RSS feed is created and stored in a storage device at a timing the monitoring target information (the statuses of all jobs) has been updated, it is impossible to distribute only the information of a job executed by a user who has sent an RSS feed acquisition request.